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Former Football: Former Cajuns great Orlando Thomas dies after battle with ALSTim Buckley, The Advertiser, Nov. 10, 2014
Orlando Thomas during his time playing at UL (Photo: The Advertiser file photo )
Remembered Monday by friends as a fighter, former Crowley High, University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Minnesota Vikings defensive back Orlando Thomas wished for one thing shortly after facing the onset of ALS about a decade ago. He wanted to live long enough to see his son, Orlando Thomas Jr., reach the age of 7. He needed, according to ex-UL teammate and close pal Ronald Gunner, roughly three more years. "If he could make 7," Gunner said of Thomas’ son, "then he’d at least know, ‘I had a Daddy.’ "Well, the kid’s now, I think, 13 years old. He lived way past (seeing his child turn) 7." Credit Thomas’ will to last for that. The Crowley native passed Sunday at his home in Youngsville. From the archive: Ex-Cajun great Thomas, wife continue battling ALS He did so only after battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, and that also is known as Lou Gehrig’s disease — for 10-plus years, more than doubling typical ALS survival time. Thomas started showing ALS symptoms in 2003, was diagnosed in 2004 and went public with his situation in 2007. "He fought as long as he could," said Lewis Cook, Thomas’ head coach on Crowley High’s 1989 state championship-winning team. "He wasn’t just gonna go away. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight. He fought it a lot longer than a lot of other people have, I’ll tell you. "It would have been so easy to give in so many times, with what he had to deal with," Cook added. "But that wasn’t him… He exceeded what a lot of people thought his time was gonna be." Thomas turned 42 last Oct. 21, and that’s coincidentally the number he wore at UL, where he played from 1991-94. It’s also one of seven retired by the Ragin’ Cajuns football program. Moreover, 42 is one of two numbers Thomas wore during a seven-year career playing safety for the NFL’s Vikings from 1995-2001, and it’s the number pick he was picked — 42nd overall, in the second round — of the 1995 NFL Draft. The fact Thomas made it to 42, Cook said, "just confirms the type of person he was — the will that he possessed to do his all at all times." Cook, now head coach at Notre Dame High in Crowley, recalls a kid who brought it every day despite not being the most physically imposing of specimens as a young teenager. "The way he played was inspirational. He was vocal," Cook said. "But… he could have done it without ever saying anything, because he backed up everything that came out of his mouth with how hard he played and how hard he worked every day. "Here’s a guy that started with the odds against him, because, honestly speaking, he weighed 98 pounds in the ninth grade of high school. "He looked like a pencil — just a tall, beanpole kid," Cook added. "And in his sophomore year, he said, ‘Coach, I’m gonna play college ball.’ And I’m shaking my head." In early 2010, Thomas himself recalled for a Daily Advertiser profile piece that back then "I was so weak I couldn’t bench press the bar." Thomas played college ball for four years at UL. He led the nation in interceptions with nine in his junior season, after which he was named a second team UPI All-American and a third team AP All-American, and he had six more interceptions as a senior. Thomas finished with 347 career tackles, which still ranks second all-time at UL to linebacker Steve Spinella’s 386 from 1982-85. Today, the Cajun football team’s Courage Award is named after Thomas. "I always think when you think of a true Cajun, it’s somebody with persistence, with pride and with passion, and, you know, that was him," said ex-NFL quarterback Jake Delhomme, a UL teammate of Thomas. "I think he embodied all three of those. "He was somebody that had tons of passion. Very prideful person, but in a good way, not an egotistical way. And persistent — one, on the football field, but (also) in his battle through life." Thomas’ nine interceptions in 1993 are tied for most in a season by a Cajun, and his 18 career interceptions rank third all-time behind Mike McDonald’s 21 from 1968-71 and Ron Irving’s 19 from 1976-78. "From the time I remember he was a freshman on campus," said ex-teammate and current UL football operations director Troy Wingerter, "you knew there was something special about the guy. "There was a way he carried himself that made you believe what he believed, which is that he could take on anybody he played against and do it well. It evidently carried over, too, to his career with the Vikings, who on Monday issued a statement that called Thomas "an outstanding player (who) more importantly… represented the franchise and the state of Minnesota with the utmost dignity and class." Former Minnesota receiver Cris Carter tweeted Monday that "only a few people like" ex-teammates Randy Moss, Jake Reed and Corey Fuller "know what kind of man and teammate we lost." Reed tweeted that Thomas was "a great man" and "one of my best friends," and that "he’s in a better place now." Ex-Vikings safety Robert Griffith remembered Thomas for his huge hits. "I can still hear Orlando laugh… Certain guys just light up a room, and Orlando was one of those guys," Griffith told Vikings.com Monday. "You always knew he would come up with a big play back there, whether it was an interception or just jarring the ball loose from somebody. He was that kind of guy, a heat-seeking missile back there and just a pleasure to play with." Mark Bartelstein, Thomas’ Chicago-based agent, is convinced Thomas’ penchant for hard hits had much to do with his fate later in life. "Through everything we’ve learned about football and the connection with brain damage… there’s no doubt in my mind that there’s a very, very strong correlation between how Orlando suffered and the way he played the game," Bartelstein said. "On the other hand, I don’t know of anyone that loved playing the game more than he loved it. He just loved it. He loved everything about it. He loved being a leader. He loved being a teammate. He loved being a mentor. "So," Bartelstein, "the game took everything from him — but it also gave him so much." Thomas led the NFL in interceptions with nine as a rookie in 1995, a count that remains second-most in Minnesota franchise history. He also played on the Vikings team that went 15-1 in 1998, and finished with finished with 22 NFL interceptions. Thomas’ pro career was injury-plagued, however. He suffered an ACL knee ligament tear, and frequently fought hamstring and groin injuries.
"I remember what he used to do during the week to get himself ready to be able to play on Sunday," Bartelstein said. "He worked so hard at it, and put so much into it. He was an inspiration to all his teammates, I know that." Later in life, motivated to spend as much time as possible with family, he inspired more than just teammates. Thomas was bedridden for several years, unable to move a muscle and able to communicate only through eye blinks with his loyal wife Demetra, who was by his side, quite literally, throughout his plight. "The fight that he put up was, honestly, almost breathtaking," Bartelstein said. "I don’t know how he did it." Even after false reports of his death were published in 2009, Thomas — also survived by a daughter, Alexis — kept on punching. In the end, the man who played at 6-foot-1, 225 pounds, was down to less than the 98 pounds with which he arrived at Crowley High. But that didn’t stop him for jabbing for as long as he possibly could. "Rumors of his death have been greatly exaggerated in the past," Wingerter said, "and I wasn’t going to believe it until I actually heard it from some people who were with him and knew him — because here’s a guy who was going to fight it until the end. "From the time he was diagnosed — shoot, from the time he was born until the time he passed — he was gonna fight, no matter what, in whatever capacity it was." Athletic Network Footnote: Please click here for the Feb., 2010 Spotlight Feature on Orlando posted by Bruce Brown.
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